On average, Americans drive 29.2 miles a day or 10,658 miles a year, according to a ground-breaking study underway by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety and the Urban Institute.
The foundation’s new American Driving Survey offers the most up-to-date, comprehensive look at how much Americans drive on a daily and yearly basis.
The first year data, collected from May 2013 through May 2014 is now available from the ongoing study.
This study sets the benchmark for future data and will ultimately reveal trends in Americans’ driving habits.
“This is the first ongoing study that provides a look at when and how much Americans are driving,” said Peter Kissinger, president and chief executive officer of the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety. “Existing federal data with this level of detail was last released in 2009, eight years after the previous release. This substantially limits the extent to which we can use existing data to draw conclusions about Americans’ current driving practices.”
“The information from these ongoing studies will allow states to make more informed choices when looking at traffic trends,” said Cynthia Harris, AAA Northern California spokeswoman.
The first-year results of the American Driving Survey revealed that:
· Motorists in the South drive the most (11,826 miles annually), while those in the Northeast drive the least (8,468 miles annually). Drivers in the West drive the second most (11,279 miles annually).
· Motorists age 16 years and older drive, on average, 29.2 miles per day or 10,658 miles per year.
· Women take more driving trips, but men spend 25 percent more time behind the wheel and drive 35 percent more miles than women.
· Both teenagers and seniors over the age of 75 drive fewer miles than any other age group; motorists 30-49 years drive an average 13,140 miles annually, more than any other age group.
· The average distance and time spent driving increase in relation to higher levels of education. A driver with a grade school or some high school education drives an average of 19.9 miles and 32 minutes daily. Drive time and distance correlate to higher levels of education.
· Drivers who reported living “in the country” or “a small town” drive greater distances (12,264 miles annually) and spend a greater amount of time driving than people who described living in a “medium sized town” or city (9,709 miles annually).
· On average, Americans drive fewer miles on weekends than on weekdays.
· Americans drive, on average, the least during the winter months (January through March) at 27.5 miles daily, they drive the most during the summer months (July through September) at 30.6 miles daily. Interestingly, Western drivers drove the most in January through March at 35.2 miles daily and second most in October through December at 33.5 miles daily.
The data from this study will be especially useful when combined with crash data. For the first time, researchers will be able to conduct unique, timely studies of crash rates.
The results for the American Driver Survey are based on telephone interviews with drivers living in a random sample of households nationwide.
The drivers reported detailed information about all their driving trips taken the day before the interview. Data collection is ongoing.
The information reported in the first-year results was collected between May 21, 2013 and May 31, 2014.
The full results from the inaugural American Driver Survey are available online at www.aaafoundation.org .
New study provides in-depth data on American driving habits
- Lake County News reports
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